If you’ve made the decision to enhance your viewing experience when birdwatching, stargazing or simply admiring distant scenes or objects when hiking, a spotting scope might be your first port of call.
While the Vanguard binocular range might have met your needs up to a certain point, there will often come a time in many people’s lives when they start looking for a more fulfilling and rewarding way to spot birds, planets and other objects, and a spotting scope is the natural progression. However, the decision to invest in a spotting scope is just one of many you’ll need to make when choosing the right one for your needs, and deciding whether to go for an angled or straight one, must initially be made.
Let’s take a closer look:
Straight spotting scopes
The original design for all spotting scopes, straight scopes were your only choice, and initially, they were used primarily for military purposes. This meant that a straight design was best in terms of enabling a soldier to remain hidden while observing the enemy.
Angled spotting scopes
Having become popular in recent years, especially within the birdwatching community, angled spotting scopes enables the observer to use a smaller tripod, or place one in a significantly lower position. This means that the bending to view takes place at the waist or neck, making it less tiring if watching something for longer periods of time as the muscles being used are bigger, and to re-position the scope, the user doesn’t need to stretch upwards.
Additionally, if the angled eyepiece comes with a tripod mounting collar that can be rotated, the scope can then be rolled along the chosen optical alignment to give the user the option of viewing through the scope from above it, below it, or even from underneath it. If you, or anyone in your observing party (such as children or anyone who is disabled), isn’t able to look down into the eyepiece of the scope due to height or other restrictions, this enables them to look up into the eyepiece, instead. If being used from within a vehicle and placed on a window mount, the rotational feature makes viewing a lot easier and more comfortable.
If you decide that an angled spotting scope is the right choice for you, you can’t go far wrong with a mid-range model such as the Vanguard endeavor HD 82A. A reliable choice for anyone wishing to pursue hobbies such as birdwatching, it offers practicality combined with superior magnification, for the clearest and most comfortable viewing experience.
Thinking about the different ways in which you plan to use your spotting scope, how long you might use it for each time, whether anyone else is likely to use it on a regular basis, and whether you need to be concealed when doing so, are important considerations to make when selecting a spotting scope that’s either angled, or straight. While the decision may ultimately come down to personal preference, armed with the right details, you can at least make a decision that’s well informed.